FOs and Yarn!

So I figured I owed my loyal fans a finsihed project and some pictures, so I set out to finish my socks. Actually, I had a doctor's appointment on Friday, so I had some wating room time to work on the second sock. With out any further ado, here is my first pair of socks:




Pattern: Socks Soar on Two Circulars basic sock pattern
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Java
Needles: Clover Bamboo size 3
Notes: I LOVE THIS YARN!! I received this yarn from my first secret pal (THANK YOU!!) and decided they would be my first pair of socks. It is so soft and the colors are awesome.



Close up of the sock detail.

I have quite a bit of yarn left over, so I think I might try some baby socks.
I mentioned I had a doctor's appointment on Friday, so I left work early to drive to downtown Naperville. I sort of had a little time to waste, so I hit the yarn store down there. I wasn't really inspired by anything. Seriously. There were some really nice yarns, but I was sort of upset. I wanted to order some handpainted yarn for an Hourglass Sweater, and I tried. Only when I ordered my iPod, Apple did some weird $.50 charge which my bank thought was identity theft and turned off my debit card. So I tried to order and was denied. Then when it was all worked out, all the yarns were gone. So, I went to the doctor and decided to hit another yarn store on the way home:

What's in the bag?!
I still have some birthday money, so don't freak out on me, yet. I found some great things:

LOOT!
Here are the things I came away with: 3 hanks of Chuckanaut Bay wool for an Hourglass (this stuff is 390 yards for $19) in a deel purple, a hank of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in blue, some angora for the booties in Last Minute Knittd Gifts (a gift for a co-worker), the Fiber Trends Felted Clog Pattern, Chibi, and regular darning needles.
Want to see a closeup of the Chuckanaut Bay yarn?

Slow going...

Since I have been concentrating on homework (yes, this is going to go on for the next 3 years! ARGH!), I have been slow going on all my projects. Here is the front of Klaralund:




Don't the stripes look much different than the back?


I'm not sure if I'll just leave it and say that's what happens with self striping yarn. Or if I'll rip the back out and try to get more purple and blue in there.


So, this Winter Slowness laziness that I have been feeling must be going around. Ei posted about her lack of enthusiasm for much of anything...
I think I need a massage and pedicure to feel better...

Yoda is just as cute as ever:



Look at me, I'm cute Yoda...





Here she is waiting to pounce on my hand...

She likes to play this hand chasing game and we are not sure what the rules are yet. So we just try to play along!

How do I use this thing?

So our digital camera is a couple years old and cost about $1000 when we bought it. I have been struggling lately to take pictures of the details of my knitting, so I want a new camera. Jeremy wasn't on board with that plan. He showed me the macro mode. Um, I never knew that was there. So I practiced on the back of Klaralund:



Then I played around with the zoom function. Here she is at 2.5 zoom (whatever that means):


For being so technical, this camera stuff is like Greek to me. Guess I should read the manual. Maybe I'll take more pictures for you all to see.

I got my mini ipod and loaded her up with some of my ripped albums. I need to check out Audible. Heather mentioned this audio book site...DaVinci Code here I come!

Knitting and Puppies

Can you guess what this is?

Back of Klaralund

Even though I have been so busy I can't keep up with my favorite blogs, I was sick, and homework has gotten crazy, this is still a quick knit!! The back is done minus two rows. Though the jury is still out on this Silk Garden...

And what would a blog be without a cute picture of the clean (she was groomed on Wednesday) Yoda?


Doesn't she look innocent? Well, just ask her about my fairly new shoes...

cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze

Yup, that's been me for the last few days. I have been sickly with the head, chest, throat thing. Lovely and fun!

So, today is my birthday. I have yet to decide what I want from Jeremy and my mom (I was given money). I was thinking ipod mini, but I just don't know...Any suggestions?

I hope everyone's day is less sick than mine...off to save the world with a .net app, I think.

Random...

If anyone is interested in a review of the new Knit Picks yarn, someone sent me this link. I also saw on KR that Clar ais doing her Knit Picks review for this week's newsletter.

So what have I been working on? I have been trying to finish up sock #2. I know I'm slow. I have done the heel and now need to pick up stitches. It should be smooth sailing after that. I've also been working on a mystery project. More details to come.

Who is cuter?

IK

I guess the Spring Interweave Knits is supposed to be on newsstands soon. I have a subscription, and have yet to see the Spring issue in my mailbox. But after looking at the preview, I might not care. I like the cabled socks, but those were really the only thing that jumped out at me. I think part of my problem is that I am not big into Spring/Summer knitting, so the ideas really don't appeal to me. I'll let you all be the judge.

Strike a Pose--Vogue!

I promised to show everyone the sweaters I liked from Vogue Knitting Winter 2004/2005. So, here they are (you can click on the pictures to see more detail, but I am sure you already knew that):


I LOVE Adrienne Vittadini desgins. I think they are classic and stylish. I could wear this to work or out at night. I was thinking this yarn could be a good fit for the budget concious.


This is the epitome of classic. A nice silk blend would be awesome for this design.


This cardigan is supposed to be knit in Cashmere, but who really has the budget for that? I was thinking this or this doubled would work. Still cheaper than cashmere


I like this jacket, but I am still not sure if it will look good on me. But just in case, this should do.

Yeah, so the yarns I am considering for these projects is all from the Knit Picks collection. Why should I pay any more? I of course cannot purchase yarn right now, and I want to wait and see what everyone who has bought the yarn thinks. But why should I spend $15/ball or more when I can get half a sweater for that price?

National Holiday

The day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday with everyone getting the day off. It really should.

So, I survived my in-laws, but barely. My husband said we should invite them over for the Super Bowl just to get it over with. He really isn't a big fan of his family, either. Poor Yoda was chased around by a 3 year old all night, and when she didn't want to come out of her cage this morning, I couldn't blame her.

I had wanted to get some knitting done during the game, but that really didn't happen. I had to be a good hostess and get people drinks and food. Darn, I was a good girl and did homework all weekend so I could have Sunday afternoon/evening to knit and relax. Nope.

Sorry I am so boring today, but I really am tired. My eyes are burning, just to give you an idea of the tired. The day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday with everyone getting the day off. It really should.

Hurray for front loaders?!

Who would have thought that my front loading Whirlpool Duet machine would play an integral part in my knitting? Over at Knitter's Review about Felting and Front Loading Machines. Basically, felting in a front loader takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. It's because there is no agitator to rough up the yarn. But, there is an upside to a front loader. Ok, at least my brand of front loader. I have a wool cycle. Yes, you heard me right--a wool cycle. The nice thing about it is the low spin. You can wash your woolens, take them out, and they are not sopping wet. This is very nice for blocking pretty cabled scarves:

And a close up:


"But Amanda, how did you take care of the fuzzy felted ends?" you ask. I used a little bit of this on the strands and they cooperated long enough to sew them in.

So, you all miss the Princess Yoda? Ok, here are a couple pictures of her helping me block the scarf:


She was really quite helpful. She moved the scarf around to fit her needs...It was great.

Now, we all know that Yoda is probably one of the most spoiled puppies around, so how much more spoiled can she get? I was reading the new Vogue Knitting magazine (bought with money gifted to me by my mom, so no breaking the agreement) and noticed a small little blurb about the Craft Yarn Council's latest idea. This idea benefits puppies everywhere--Check it out!

Speaking of Vogue Knitting...
I have read that a lot of people are very disappointed in the new VK and that it is going downhill...blah, blah, blah. Come on, people. Are you looking at the garments themselves or the way the outfits are put together? I'm not saying I like everything, but there are four patterns that I would love to knit--all depends on when I get to the others on my list! I think the price is right for 4 patterns. I'll scan some pics later to show you all which I like.

BTW--I hit a bunny this morning on my way to work. I feel awful and I think that is going to set the tone for today, so think good things for me (and for the little bunny).

I wanted to show everyone the finished 'Here and There' today. I really did, but I can't. It's not because the camera is broken or because I lost(!) the scarf. It's because I fell asleep last night at 7:30 and didn't complete it!

I sat down after dinner to do homework. I told myself I would read a chapter of economics and then get to knit. Somehow I manged to finish the chapter. That was the last thing I remember before Jeremy was standing over me telling me to go to bed at 8:30. He went too, by the way. We were beat! I blame it on the change in weather...it's supposed to be in the 40's (F) today!

Knitting?

This is a knitting blog, so I guess I must talk about my future plans. Right now I am finishing the mate to my sock. I am cleaning up my side bar!! I think I will continue to work on those projects (unless I decide that I really hate them at this point) until I get the Klaralund pattern. That will be my next biggie project. So socks, Klaralund, and maybe a new Yoda sweater...You know, this could all change.

99% there...

I have managed to finish the knitting on the 'Here and There Cables' scarf. now I only need to sew in the ends and block it. The other day I said that won't be a big deal. I may have been wrong about that. I started to get the hanging strands ready last night for sewing and I noticed they are felted together:


Here I have taken the strand apart, but you can see the fuzzy of the felt.

Any ideas? Anyone? I tried to sew in one set last night and those sides became very fuzzy...

What next?

Well, I am kind of waiting on Mariah. I decided to wait and see the finished products and then decide what I want to do. But I can almost guarantee that I am not going to knit that pattern for myself. I need to be knitting classic things I can wear at work, and while I could wear Mariah on casual days, we don't have them very often.

I am expecting to get the Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Collection Book Number 2 for my birthday to make Klaralund (February 16), so she is on my list. It should be pretty quick and easy while classes are in session.

I really like the knitted Hourglass Sweaters from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. But there is that whole non-yarn buying thing in place, so that'll have to wait.

I do have quite a bit of sock yarn from my secret pal sitting in my basket...hmmm.

More on this topic to come...

Good bye, Thing...

It's done! The Thing is officially complete. Well, as far as I am going to take it. Here is one side. You can see the two color work (which was surprisingly fun in the round), the knitted belt, the sweat shirt pocket, many different stripesm the knitted cord, and the cord bind off.

Here is the other side showing off the lace bind off and the knitted loop. There are some raglan decreases in there, some increasing...you know all the fun stuff you should expect from a sweater.